'Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles' is an African American cozy mystery featuring Mahalia Watkins as the lead character, a strong black woman who runs a soul food restaurant. The book includes soul food recipes, adding an extra layer of authenticity to the story. The plot revolves around Halia, the restaurant owner, who finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery while managing her business and dealing with quirky and endearing characters, including her mischievous cousin Wavonne.

Characters:

The characters are relatable and well-developed, offering a mix of humor and depth to the storyline.

Writing/Prose:

The prose is humorous with moments of information overload, but maintains an engaging tone suitable for cozy mystery readers.

Plot/Storyline:

The story involves a murder mystery with humorous twists, set in a soul food restaurant, featuring quirky characters and engaging narrative elements.

Setting:

The setting is in Prince George's County, Maryland, particularly around a soul food restaurant, enhancing the cultural backdrop of the story.

Pacing:

The pacing starts slow but becomes engaging, keeping the narrative flowing well as the story progresses.

I still remember the first time I tasted my grandmother’s cornbread. I was maybe four or five. It was sometime in the seventies. If I close my eyes, I can still see the heavy cast-iron skillet being s...

Notes:

The story is set in Prince George's County, Maryland, at Mahalia's Sweet Tea restaurant.

Mahalia, the main character, is the owner and an intuitive armchair sleuth.

Wavonne is Mahalia's witty cousin and plays a significant role in the crime-solving antics.

The book includes quirky and relatable characters with great dialogue.

Readers noted a lot of information dumping, making parts feel like character bios.

There is repetitive prose concerning Marcus's shady business dealings.

The narrative raises questions about characters not noticing Marcus's parked car outside the restaurant.

The author incorporates humor and surprising twists leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Soul food recipes are included in the story, enhancing its authenticity, though some preferred them at the end of the book.

The book features a strong black female lead who is not portrayed as desperate for marriage, which was applauded by readers.

From The Publisher:

Welcome to Mahalia's Sweet Tea-the finest soul food restaurant in Prince George's County, Maryland. In between preparing her famous cornbread and mashed potatoes so creamy "they'll make you want to slap your Momma," owner Halia Watkins is about to dip her spoon into a grisly mystery . . .

Halia Watkins has her hands full cooking, hosting, and keeping her boisterous young cousin, Wavonne, from getting too sassy with customers. Having fast-talking entrepreneur Marcus Rand turn up in her kitchen is annoying enough when he's alive-but finding his dead body face-down on her ceramic tile after hours is much worse.

Marcus had his enemies, and the cast iron frying pan beside his corpse suggests that at last, his shady business deals went too far. Halia is desperate to keep Sweet Tea's name out of the sordid spotlight but her efforts only make Wavonne a prime suspect. Now Halia will have to serve up the real villain-before the killer returns for a second helping . . .

Features delicious recipes from Mahalia's Sweet Tea,

including Sour Cream Corn Bread and Sweet Corn Casserole!

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Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles?

About the Author:

A.L. Herbert grew up in both Prince George's County and Charles County, Maryland. A.L. is currently working on the next Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery and more delicious comfort food recipes. Readers can e-mail the author at alherbert123@gmail.com. And please visit www.alherbert.com and

www.facebook.com/a.l.herbert123.

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Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles

A.L. Herbert

Book 1 in the series:Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery